Can't Sleep in the City of Neon and Chrome
by Carving Stars
Summary: Magnus isn't really sure how it happened; one minute, he's a struggling college student living on his own and then he's living with some guy he's only just met—who also happens to be a gay porn star. Malec, AU, pornstar!Alec, two-shot. Rated M for sensitive content, cussing, and smut later on. The first installment of the Out Tonight series.
1. Part One

_Full summary: _Magnus isn't really sure how it happened. One minute, he's a struggling college student living on his own and then the next, he's living with some guy he's only just met—who also happens to be a gay porn star. Malec, AU, Pornstar!Alec, two-shot. Rated for sensitive content, cussing, and smut in the second part.

_Notes: _For starters, the (long) title comes from the ever wonderful song "Out Tonight" from the musical Rent. Secondly, I do not own these characters. They belong to Cassandra Clare. I only own the plot (which I was kind of disappointed to find out hadn't happened before) and that's about it. Thirdly, this will have two chapters (hence: two-shot). Fourthly, I can't believe I've actually fucking wrote this. It's been in my mind for ages and well… it happened. Also, I honestly can't write a story without some angst (so beware that) and this will have a lot of line breaks since the site doesn't allow spaces.

R&R, my loves! (:

**Can't Sleep in the City of Neon and Chrome**

He blames Camille for everything.

She's the one who introduced them, the one made them realize that they should move in with each other since they were both struggling with balancing out a part time job, living on their own, and going to college, she's the one who told the other they both like boys. She's the one to blame for Magnus falling in love with a _fucking_ _porn star_.

Moving in with him had seemed like the right idea at the time and sometimes, it still does. But things change and now he knows Alec becomes Alex Light in front of a camera and does all the things Magnus knows he'd rather keep in the privacy of his bedroom. And now he understands why people at their college and in random stores and at different places miles away from here give him weird looks, give both of them weird looks.

At first, Alec didn't tell him. Magnus had just assumed that he did whatever college students do to get by, like working at a bookshop or a nearby café or the Starbucks on campus or that maybe he was a paid intern at some company like Magnus himself is at Vogue. He never expected Alec's answer to porn star, though, and he definitely had not been ready for that conversation.

But he's gotten used to it by now, all things considered.

He just can't get used to nights like this.

Magnus looks up from his _People _magazine as the door is thrown open and slams against the wall, causing a loud bang to resound throughout the apartment. Chairman Meow jumps up at the unexpected sound and he hisses viciously before dashing into Magnus' room to hide underneath the bed, where he'll stay for another good two hours before he's sure the threat is vanquished.

"Hello, Alexander," Magnus says and Alec looks at him with those blue eyes, his cheeks dark with what Magnus knows is shame. He tries to say hello, but his voice fails and he gives up a second later anyways. Without a word, or even another attempt at a few, he moves over to the couch and sits down next to Magnus with a heavy sigh.

Setting his _People _magazine aside, he asks softly, carefully, "What happened this time?"

"It was horrible," Alec answers and he bends down to undo his boots, his fingers clumsy with the laces, purposely not meeting Magnus' eyes. Magnus watches his hands, unusually graceless, and realizes just what he's wearing—he has on a thin T-shirt that's too big for him, slipping off his shoulders to expose the sharp juts of his collarbones and the sleeves hang halfway down his palms, making him look innocent even though his hair is messed up like someone has been harshly tugging at the strands. His deep brown leather boots are knee-high and he's wearing dark leggings that look like they belong on a young woman in a Pink catalogue.

Magnus would absolutely love what he's wearing, if it wasn't for Alex's sake.

"Why?"

Alec kicks his shoes off over to the side of the couch and leans back, closing his eyes, and he says quietly, "It… it was two guys again this time. One of them kept on calling me a slut, while the other one kept on calling me his bitch. It was disgusting. And there was no damn preparation, none at all, so every goddamn thing fucking _hurt_."

Some nights, Alec will come home like this—agitated and bruised all over, soul and body. Others, he'll be fine and he won't talk about it because he doesn't need to. And still others, he'll bring the guy home (always only one) and Magnus will have to put up with Alec's real moans seeping in through his walls and the anonymous man lingering around until Alec has to leave for his morning classes.

But Magnus hates these nights the most, even when each of Alec's whimpers and cries and the few screams uttered feel like ice working through his veins.

…

"What are you doing up?" Magnus asks before he can stop himself and Alec startles, the coffee he has his hand wrapped around almost sliding off the table.

"I, um…" Alec's voice trails off and he fixes the coffee mug back into its place. With a sigh, he closes his Psychology text book he has resting in front of him and says, "I didn't go to sleep. Plus, I have to finish some work I didn't get a chance to do yet."

"But it's five o'clock in the morning," Magnus says. He takes the seat across from Alec at their small kitchen table and crosses his legs, watching him closely. "You don't get up until seven. And even then you still bitch about it being too early."

Alec shrugs. "Actually, to be honest, I couldn't fall asleep."

"You've been awake for almost a whole entire day?"

Alec just shrugs again. "Yeah."

"Then why don't you just go to sleep, forget about your work for now, and skip out on school today?" Magnus suggests and a second later, he watches as Alec's face shifts for forced unconcern to sudden annoyance.

"Fuck no," he scoffs, like it's the most ridiculous idea in the world.

"You're not going to make it through today, Alexander, if you—"

"I hate it when you call me that," Alec interrupts and he abruptly stands up, kicking his chair back away from him with more force than he needed.

"Would you rather me call you Alec, then?" Magnus questions, only a little sarcastically, as he watches Alec move over to the sink, pouring his coffee down the drain, and throw his mug into the sink to be cleaned later.

Alec doesn't turn to look at him as his hands clench around the edge of the sink, the metal biting into his skin. He shakes his head, his shoulders tensed.

"No," he says faintly. "No, I don't. I want you to call me Alexander."

…

He doesn't stay home, even though he only has half an hour of sleep in his system by the time he's done with his Psychology work. And then he has even less time than that to get ready so he can be on time for his morning classes. He doesn't eat breakfast, he doesn't even take a quick sip of the coffee Magnus made for him in preparation of him needing it.

Magnus knows this is ruining him, little by little, with every passing late night and video and fake moan and sold 'just barely eighteen!' He just doesn't know what he can do.

…

Magnus discovers later that day, when night has long since fallen and almost everyone has gone to sleep (including the Chairman himself), that he never wants to Alec cry ever again.

Magnus has a late class each Tuesday night, which goes well into the double digits every single time, so he hadn't expected to run into Alec when he finally got home. He knew Alec had another shoot today and he knew that it was probably going to end up leaving Alec in tatters, but he hadn't expected to find him sitting on the couch with his knees pulled up to his chest, his arms wrapped around his legs as he quietly sobbed into his clothing.

When he comes back to their apartment to find Alec like this, he stands in the opened doorway for a long time before he can think of what to do. And even then, he knows Alec won't like it, won't be comfortable with being caught. Regardless, he somehow manages to shut the door behind him silently and to soundlessly drop his bag onto the kitchen table as he passes by it on his way over to the couch.

He only hesitates a moment before reaching out his hand and placing it on Alec's shoulder. Alec jumps beneath his touch and whips around, his eyes going wide. He then quickly starts to wipe away his tears, like he's ashamed, like Magnus hasn't already seen them.

"M-Magnus," he stutters, his cheeks flaming. "What… what's up?"

"What's wrong, Alexander?" Magnus asks, even though he already knows.

"Ah, nothing. I just... I-"

"Don't lie to me, Alexander," Magnus cuts him off with a sigh. He moves to the front of the couch, sitting down next to Alec. Alec clutches his hands around his knees once Magnus is next to him and Magnus can now see that they're shaking, tremors running the lengths of his long fingers. "What's wrong?"

Alec stays silent for a full minute and then he says, his voice noticeably weaker, "Honestly, it's nothing. Today has just been… It's been a hard day."

"Why are you crying, then?"

The color in Alec's cheeks burn deeper and he turns his head away, pressing his cheek against his knees still drawn up to his chest. "It's been a hard day," he repeats, like that explains everything—which it does.

"You can talk to me about it, about anything," Magnus says gently and he puts his hand on Alec's back, almost as if it alone can bring Alec comfort. But Alec _does_ relax into his touch, much to his surprise, and he even moves closer to Magnus so that his head is resting on Magnus' shoulder and his hand is clutching at the front of Magnus' shirt, like a little kid afraid of the monsters underneath his bed rather than the real ones out there roaming about the world.

"I know I can," is his only reply.

…

They ended up falling asleep like that, wrapped up in each other.

It almost hurt to let him go the next morning.

…

"Magnus…"

The soft voice tears him away from his book, but when he looks up to see Alec standing in his doorway, his arms crossed over his chest in a purely defensive gesture, his eyes downcast and trained on the floor, he doesn't care.

"Yeah?"

"Can I borrow some of your makeup?"

"What? Why do you want to borrow my makeup?" Magnus asks and when Alec doesn't reply right away, he moves from his laying down position, pushing his book on to one of his pillows to be forgotten about until later, and looks imploringly at Alec.

"It's what they want," Alec finally answers with a small shrug. He's still not meeting Magnus' eyes, even as he moves into the room.

Magnus stares at him for a long moment, dumbstruck. But then he realizes that _of course_ that's what they want. _Of course_ they want Alec to be someone who he isn't: Alex and feminine enough to wear makeup and submissive in all the wrong ways. It makes him sick to his stomach.

But he forces these thoughts down and says with only slight contempt creeping into his voice, "Sure, but let me do it for you. I'd hate to see how it'd turn out if you did it yourself."

Alec just nods and takes Magnus' offered hand, letting Magnus pull him over and sit him down in the chair placed in front of his vanity table. Reaching behind the vanity's back with unease growing in the pit of his stomach, Magnus finds and presses a minute button. The lights lined in a half circle around the mirror's edge all flicker on, like a 1920s Hollywood starlet's.

He pulls the chair over from his desk, which he's now thankful for since this time calls for two, and sits down across from Alec. Alec look like he wants to speak, but he keeps his mouth shut. Sometimes, Magnus wishes he _would_ speak. He grabs Alec's chin and tilts his head to the side, his blue eyes catching very distractively in the light, and looks for any flaws he may need to cover. He finds none.

"Jesus Christ," he murmurs, the words pulled from his lips before he has the chance to stop them. He moves his hand away and starts rummaging around on the vanity's counter, looking for the eye shadow he knows will clash wonderfully with, and bring out, Alec's eyes. When he finds it and unscrews the lid, dropping it back on to the counter, he turns back around to see Alec watching him carefully.

"What?" Alec asks.

"What do you mean 'what'?"

Alec rolls his eyes. "What was that 'Jesus Christ' comment about?"

For a second, Magnus thinks he should lie. But he answers anyways, forcing the confidence out of himself, "You're just so beautiful. It's almost unbelievable."

Alec's eyes widen and Magnus moves his attention back to the eye shadow in his hand, and he runs the brush heavily over the makeup. When the clean white of the brush has been covered with the light purple to mishmash with Alec's blue eyes, he then carefully blows on it until the powder in evened out in the way he can work with it.

It's not until after he's done with this that Alec says, so quietly Magnus almost misses it, "Thank you."

Magnus can't reply, so he says instead, "Close your eyes."

Alec does as he's told, but once he senses that the brush is close to his eyes he flinches back.

"Come on, now," Magnus groans. "Don't be like that. Work with me a little, Alexander."

Alec huffs out a sigh, but this time he forces himself to stay still as Magnus once more leans in closer. He flinches a little once he feels the smooth makeup being applied, but it's nothing Magnus can't work with. In fact, he has to smile because he had thought Alec would be worse than this.

As the minutes continue to tick by, Alec lets him finish the eye shadow and even lets him put on the coal black eyeliner and mascara (even though his eyelashes are already long enough) with minimal complaints, but when it comes to the lip gloss he shakes his head and says, "No."

"No?" Magnus repeats, raising an eyebrow. "No what?"

"No lip gloss."

"Oh, shut it," Magnus says, but when he starts to roll the cap off of the tube of clear lip gloss, Alec shakes his head again.

"It's gross," he intones, sounding much like a whiny teenage girl who's not getting her way. "It's messy and goopy and it's just gross."

"It's just lip gloss!" Magnus says, astounded. Surely Alec's had to kiss many guys that have been wearing lip gloss, right?

Alec looks at him, waiting for him to see his point of view. But Magnus goes on to say, "You're ruining your bottom lip by biting down on it. If you let me put on the lip gloss, it'll pull focus away from the torn skin."

"I—what?"

"I know it's a habit you do when you're nervous," Magnus starts with a roll of his eyes, "but if you let them look ruined, hardly any guy is going to think of how those pretty lips would look even better wrapped around his dick."

"Oh my God," Alec breathes and he leans back in the chair, staring at Magnus with wide eyes, the lip gloss problem now forgotten.

"Hm?" Magnus says, but he's smiling too. He can't help it.

"I can't believe you fucking said that," Alec says and he begins to laugh. Magnus thinks that, maybe, it's the most glorious sound he's ever heard. This time this laugh is untainted, real, and Magnus loves it. It fits this beautiful boy sitting in front of him; the broken side of him, the darkest side, for this moment, is hidden away.

And it's wonderful.

Eventually, their laughter sobers up once the reality of their situation, of why Magnus is putting makeup on Alec for, hits. The silence isn't unbearable, though. It's a bit uncomfortable, a bit sad, a bit bitter—but it's not broken. And that's what actually matters.

"So," Magnus ventures into the quiet and somewhere outside his still opened doorway, he can hear Chairman Meow mew low in his throat, "are you gonna let me put this lip gloss on your or not?"

Alec tries for a smile and says, "Sure, why the hell not?"

Magnus tries to pick up on the mood, too, and he says teasingly, "You just want guys to think about you giving them a blowjob, don't you?"

There's another laugh, but not like the one before. This one sounds tired out and used, like his real laugh has disappeared. Regardless, he says jokingly, "Yes, Magnus, that's exactly why I'm letting you put this lip gloss on me. So that you and every other guy out there can think about me sucking them off!"

Magnus pauses, halfway through reaching out to Alec before he changes his mind about the lip gloss, and says, his voice cracking on the one word, "_Me_?"

"I-I didn't mean it like that..." Alec mumbles and he looks away from Magnus' eyes once more, his cheeks flushing a deep scarlet red, and Magnus is sure he's the only who has ever seen a porn star blush.

"I know you didn't mean it like that," he says after a long time and his voice comes out strained and breathless. But he can't help thinking: what if Alec had?

…

It's one o'clock on a Friday morning and Magnus should be sleeping since he has to get up so early to be on time for his morning classes. But instead of sleeping peacefully, he has his earbuds in, his iPod turned all the way up to full blast, and he's switching between Lana Del Rey and Marina and the Diamonds to drown out the two sets of porn-like moans coming from Alec's room.

With a disgusted sigh he both hopes can be heard and is too quiet to hear, Magnus flips on to his stomach and taps his iPod, bringing it back to life. He's only staying in Lana's and Marina's sections and now he switches halfway through Lana's "Bel Air" to Marina's "Homewrecker" because he thinks it's a little more than fitting for his current moment's attitude.

For now, he can only hope that the guy's gone by the time he starts getting ready.

…

He doesn't get to sleep until two-thirty, an hour and a half later, yet he still gets up at five—like he always does, whether he has classes or not, or what day of the week it is.

Unfortunately, he's not surprised that Alec sleeps in a little today. He rises when Magnus is just on his way out, at seven-thirty, and he looks dead to the world. The other man's not with him; he must have snuck out sometime during the dark hours, but Alec's shirtless, only clad in his plain black boxers, and the bruising bite marks covering his body are obvious in the bright morning light streaming through the windows. He rubs at his eyes and yawns and has just enough energy to wave goodbye to Magnus before he leaves.

…

Starting Saturday, Alec has a week off from doing anything for his company. He still has his classes, of course, but no videos or movies or photo shoots or threesomes and no random men coming home with him.

Magnus thinks they'll both enjoy his time off.

…

The next Tuesday night, Magnus comes home late into the night yet again. And yet again, he finds himself faced with Alec. But this time he's not crying, not hurting, not trying to hide anything. Instead, he's lying on his back on the couch with his iPhone held up in front of his face and Magnus smiles, knowing he's re-watching American Horror Story on Netflix.

Alec doesn't notice Magnus walk over to him, or Magnus at all, until he pulls the earbuds from his ears with a forceful tug.

"You know, watching something with your earbuds in and the volume turned all the way up at midnight could cause you some problems at some point," Magnus says with a slight smirk before he can complain.

"Screw you," Alec huffs as he rips his earbuds from Magnus' hand, but he's smiling too. He's been doing that a lot this week.

"So," Magnus starts as he walks around to the other side. He shoves Alec's legs off and sits down, but before Alec can complain some more he pulls his legs back onto his lap.

"Yeah?" Alec prompts when Magnus doesn't continue, rolling his eyes in exasperation.

"Since we both don't have classes or work tomorrow due to the stupidest holiday on Earth, do you want to do something?"

Alec watches him for a minute, the smile slipping off his lips.

"Magnus… I-I don't…"

"No," Magnus interrupts, stopping Alec's train of thought. "No, no. I don't mean as a date. God, I should have worded that differently. But no, not a date. I know that seems weird since it's Valentine's Day and all, but I just figured that we could hang out with each other since we both have time off…. You know what? Forget it. It was a stupid idea anyway."

"No!" Alec says, panic tingeing his voice and he grabs Magnus' arm as he stands up from the couch, his eyes suddenly wide. "No, I do want to do something with you! I just… Yes, I want to."

It's Magnus' turn to stare at him. Watching him carefully, he then says slowly, even though he knows he wants it to be, "Okay, but we've established that it isn't a date?"

"Yeah," Alec agrees, but his eyes are still wide.

…

Even though they said it wasn't a date, Magnus takes a longer time to work on his appearance. It's ridiculous, he knows, but he can't help it. It's Alec and Alec deserves everything, even if that is having Magnus take a long time to perfect his appearance.

He's standing in front of the wall length mirror situated in his room, judging how he looks by his own standards since he can't ask Alec this time. Since it's not a date and it's casual and Magnus doesn't want to come on too strong anyways, he's wearing dark wash skinny jeans, a plain white long-sleeved T-shirt with a sleeveless gray cardigan opened up over it, black fingerless gloves and a slim scarf to match because it's a little above ten degrees outside, and gray Chuck Taylors with subtle purple piping.

He's got on the same light purple eye shadow he'd put on Alec a few days ago, just to match the purple in his Converses, and the only other type of makeup he's wearing is lip gloss with a tint of glittery pink to it.

When he decides that he looks decent enough, he walks out of his room to wait for Alec. When Alec comes out of his own room a few minutes later, Magnus isn't ready for it. He's wearing skinny jeans that hug the soft curves of his hips a little too well, that also make a fine display of his ass—which is already too distracting for Magnus without those skinny jean's help. He has on a tight blood red top and boots that he actually wants to wear.

When he sees Magnus waiting for him in the living room, he smiles and Magnus has to remind himself that this is _not _a date.

…

Alec's pale cheeks are pinched with pink and his breath is coming out in puffs of silvery white, the snow falling from the sky collecting in his hair and on his clothes before it melts into water. Magnus had ended up giving him his gloves once he noticed his hands were shaking from the cold, but now he's rubbing them together as if to generate heat.

"Who knew you'd get so cold so easily," Magnus notes.

"It's fucking thirteen degrees outside," Alec snaps. "I have no idea how you're not freezing, you freak."

"I'm cold a heart," Magnus answers with a smile and Alec looks at him, his eyes narrowing and he murmurs a quiet "idiot" when he looks away. Magnus' smile just widens.

Another five minutes out in the cold and Magnus can hear Alec's teeth chattering.

"All right, all right," he says, a little worried now. "We're here. Let's get inside before you die of hypothermia."

Alec's eyes dart up to the wooden sign hanging above the door to see the name _Taki's _written across it in fine script before he nods. When they're inside the crowded diner (thanks to Valentine's), it only takes them a moment to be ushered to a two seated table in the front by a petite waitress with fire red hair (whose name tag reads _Clarissa_). Still, Alec's shivering in the diner's warmth and Magnus has to smile.

"What?" he asks when he sees Magnus' wicked smile, his eyes narrowing once again.

"I just never thought your weakness would be cold."

"I—"

"Oh, shut up," Magnus interrupts. "Give me your hands, you big baby."

"What?"

With a sigh, Magnus reaches across the table and grabs Alec's hands. He intertwines their fingers and squeezes gently, once more reminding himself that this is not a date; this is just them hanging out together on their day off and he's just warming up a friend.

Alec stares at Magnus, an unreadable expression on his face, but he doesn't pull his hands away. Magnus can actually see his shoulders relax, like the warmth is finally setting in. They stay like that until Clarissa arrives with their drinks (Magnus' coffee, Alec's tea), but even then it takes them a moment to part.

…

Alec's laughing by the time they get home.

It's that same laugh Magnus feels like he hasn't heard in years, even though he's known Alec for a few months and he heard it only days ago. It's loud this time, too, and his eyes are shining with happiness.

"Thanks for today, Magnus," Alec says once they're inside and he scoops Chairman Meow off the back of the couch, still smiling.

"What do you mean?" Magnus asks, unwinding his scarf from around his neck. He takes off his coat too and figures that Alec will probably be in his own coat and Magnus' gloves for another good five minutes before he wants to shuck them off.

Alec shrugs and sets Chairman Meow down on the ground.

"You made me feel normal today," he answers and this time, his voice is gentle, "like I'm just a regular guy going out with one of his friends, rather than a porn star lucky enough to have a day off."

Magnus isn't sure what to say to that and Alec must notice, because he smiles again. But it's faint and it does a good job of setting Magnus on edge. Alec walks over to him slowly with that smile and when he stops, he stares into Magnus' eyes like he's searching for something.

"You know," he begins and he reaches out to wrap his hand around Magnus' upper arm; Magnus can feel the chill of his skin even through his long-sleeved shirt, "I don't think either of us is stupid enough to convince ourselves that today _wasn't_ a date."

"I—what," Magnus stutters and he almost takes a step back from Alec. "What—what do you mean?"

"You know what I mean," Alec replies.

And then he's leaning in without another word and pressing his lips to Magnus'.

* * *

**A/N: **And part two should be coming to you soon enough! (:


	2. Part Two

_Notes: _Once again, I don't own these wonderful characters or the series. They belong to Cassandra Clare. And obviously, I don't own the books or songs or the movies/musicals brought up. Also, Jem Carstairs and Will Herondale from her other series, _The Infernal Devices_,are coming in. (: But don't worry, you don't have to be a fan of TID to know what's going on. Also, they're a couple in here. Oops.

_**Other important notes you might want to read are at the end!**_

**Can't Sleep in the City of Neon and Chrome**

**Part Two**

Magnus' breath has left him, Alec kissing it away from his lips.

Alec has moved his hand away from Magnus' arm to wrap his own around his neck, tangling his long, slender fingers in Magnus' hair, bringing him ever closer. With little time, there's no space left between them and it takes Magnus a moment to realize what exactly is happening. And it takes him even longer to start kissing him back.

But when he does, Alec whispers weakly against his mouth, "Shit." He repeats the word over and over, his voice progressively weakening, until Magnus shuts him up. Hooking his index finger underneath his chin, tilting up to get at a better angle, Magnus licks along the seam of Alec's lips until he complies and opens them for him.

He tastes like a mixture of cinnamon and the other cup of tea he had at Taki's right before they left for home and Magnus never would have imagined the mix would taste so delicious. He figures it does just because it's Alec.

With only a second's thought, Magnus starts pushing Alec's coat off of his shoulders, the need for Alec's smooth skin beneath his fingertips a dire desire. Taking the hint, Alec pulls his arms away and takes off the fingerless gloves to drop them on the ground where they join his coat in a black heap. He never once breaks the kiss. Magnus moves his hands to Alec's hips and, as Alec scrapes his front teeth along the inside of Magnus' bottom lip, his home-manicured nails dig harshly into his skin. But Alec doesn't seem to mind. In fact, he seems to like it.

With a moan low in his throat, he presses Magnus up against the door and his hands come down to bracket his sides. Magnus likes this, likes Alec flush against him, all around him, likes their breath mingled together. And it's wonderful. But it doesn't feel right.

It doesn't feel right at all. It feels as if Alec's hiding again and just as he breaks the kiss to ask him what's wrong, if he doesn't actually want this, or to ask if he's going to be an ass and call this a mistake like those idiots in the movies, Alec pulls back and takes two steps away from him. His eyes go to the floor, stay there, and he wipes at his lips, ridding of the glittery pink lip gloss Magnus happened to get on him.

"Alexander?" Magnus says, his voice tilting towards a cautious question he's not sure he wants answered.

Alec shakes his head.

"I'm sorry, Magnus," he says, his voice soft, and Magnus' whole body tenses. "This isn't the right time to be doing this."

"What do you mean that this isn't the right time?" Magnus can't help the anger already injected into his words.

"It's not the right time," Alec says and his eyes come up to meet Magnus', bright blue and pleading for him to understand before he gets too mad to see sight. "I'm a porn star, Magnus."

"Yeah, thanks, I didn't catch that," Magnus says and, okay, he admits that the snide comment wasn't needed. But Alec's starting to piss him off. Or confuse him. Or hurt him. Or all three.

"No," Alec says. He sighs, frustration getting to him. In the back of his mind, Magnus realizes it's mostly only at himself. "No, Magnus, I meant that I… I don't want to be with you while I'm kissing and touching and _fucking _other guys on an almost daily basis."

"Maybe you should have said that before you kissed me," Magnus hisses, his voice low, and he knows somewhere deep down that he shouldn't be getting mad at Alec but, regardless, he is. With a sound somewhere between a growl or a sigh, he pushes past Alec and slams his door shut behind him to whine to Chairman Meow for the rest of the night.

…

The next morning, Magnus is brushing his teeth when Alec finally decides to come talk to him. Rolling his eyes as Alec starts to speak, he turns the faucet all the way on, drowning out his voice with the loud rush of water until he's done.

"What?" Magnus asks and, instead of turning around to face him, he bends down to search through the bottom cabinet for the hair gel he hasn't used in a while. For a moment, he looks up to the mirror to meet Alec's eyes, and then he's back to riffling in the cabinet until he finds the hair gel hidden all the way in the back, moved there from all the days of abandonment.

"Magnus…"

"Uh-huh?"

"Magnus, angel, please look at me."

"_Angel_?" Magnus echoes and he stares, via his reflection in the wall length mirror, at Alec with wide eyes. Alec immediately goes red and once more Magnus is reminded of how he's the only who gets to see Alec like this, blushing and flustered and so damn vulnerable—not the men he lets fuck him senseless on camera, nor the people who watch it.

Alec nervously pulls at the hem of his sleep shirt, which he's still wearing since he usually doesn't get up for another thirty minutes, and he mumbles, "I—sorry. It kind of just slipped out. I… I'm not sure where it came from—"

"_Alexander_," Magnus interrupts. He turns around to look at him, leaning against the counter, and then momentarily closes his eyes, caught between exasperation and anger directed only towards himself. "Just say what you're going to say and get on with it. I've got to get ready for school."

"You already know what I'm going to say, Magnus," he replies and he shifts from foot to foot, standing awkwardly in front of him, and Magnus notices that he actually is nervous.

Magnus shrugs. "Yeah, I do," he agrees. "And I know you're right and I have no real reason to be upset with you, but I am. Sorry, but you kissed me, knowing full well that you shouldn't." He doesn't know why he's being such a bitch.

"You let me kiss you," Alec counters and his eyes meet Magnus', now narrowed and sharp. "Yes, I shouldn't have kissed you when I knew that it shouldn't happen while I'm having sex with other guys, but it's not like you stopped it either."

Magnus sighs again. He moves past Alec and walks back out into the living room, where Chairman Meow is curled up on the back of the couch and wan sunlight is filtering in through the opened window blinds. Alec's right behind him, though, and for the first time Magnus curses Alec for being intuitive—for being right.

"I'm not sure how you can be so mad at me," Alec continues and, this time, his voice is strong. "By all means, you should understand."

"I do understand, Alexander," Magnus replies, yet he doesn't turn around. He walks into the kitchen section of their apartment, even though he should be in the bathroom getting ready. But in there, with Alec right next to him, he feels trapped. And he hates feeling trapped. "But have you ever had someone tell you that they don't want to kiss you?"

He stops at the sound that Alec makes (maybe it's a gasp?) and turns around to him standing there, his eyes no longer holding frustration and annoyance, but wide and worried, with his hands balled into fists by his sides.

"I never said that I didn't want to kiss you," Alec says and he looks up, his gaze meeting Magnus' once more, and Magnus is surprised by the amount of emotion suddenly held within them. "Oh, God… You think I rejected you, don't you, Magnus?"

Magnus isn't sure what to say, stunned into silence by the wavering of Alec's voice. Wasn't that kind of obvious? When he doesn't answer, Alec shakes his head and walks over to him, and he's already reaching out for him. His hands come up to cup his jaw and Magnus can feel him shaking beneath the gentle touch.

"Alexander?" Magnus asks, and he can't help the note of panic coloring his voice.

"No, Magnus," Alec says and there's a touch of desperation in his own tone, in his own eyes. "Don't think that. You have no idea how much I wanted to kiss you, or how much I want to kiss you. Don't think like that. Please don't think like that."

"Okay," Magnus says, his breath hitching even though he's trying to remain calm. But Alec freaking out isn't helping him at all. "Okay, Alexander, I'm not thinking like that. You didn't reject me. I got it, baby, you didn't reject me."

Alec seems to calm down at the nickname and he drops his hands, but now he looks embarrassed. He turns his head to the side, trying to hide the flush of pure red running to his cheeks from Magnus. His hands are still shaking and he crosses his arms over his chest, tightening them into fists once more as if that could stop the tremors.

"I'm sorry," he whispers after a minute.

"Please don't apologize. You don't have to."

Alec looks at him from the corner of his eye and Magnus isn't surprised to see a tear trace its way down his cheek.

He starts, "But I made you think that I didn't—"

"Just stop," Magnus cuts him off. "Stop, Alexander. It's all right. I understand now…. Now, come here."

Alec watches him for a few more seconds, but he walks back over to him and then he's in his arms again and Magnus can feel the steady, if not ramped up a little at this moment, beat of his heart against his chest. Alec puts his arms around Magnus' neck and when he looks up to meet his eyes this time, they're not all sad.

But Magnus says anyways, like it's a promise he can keep, "It's going to be all right."

Alec just nods.

…

He wouldn't (doesn't, not yet) call it dating, but they've become more open with touching each other, watching each other instead of trying to hide it behind books and excuses, and being more than friendly with each other. But nothing goes past a quick peck on the lips because they both know that if it did, they wouldn't be able to stop. And they can't do anything, not yet, not until this month is up.

"I've always wanted you two to be together," Jem says quietly from his seat next to Will. "Ever since you introduced me to Magnus, Alec, I've wanted you two to be happy together."

Magnus can't help but smile into his coffee when he hears Will laugh across the table because he knows they're thinking the same thing: Jem is always the one who has had the most optimistic, Romantic (although he hates poetry with a passion) view and he's not going to stop, even for his friends' relationships. Will slides his arm through Jem's and leans in to place a kiss on his cheek. He then moves his lips to Jem's ear to whisper something that makes Jem smack him on the shoulder, but doesn't make him go red like it used to when they first started dating.

Magnus looks over, still smiling, to see Alec staring down at his hands wrapped around his own cup of coffee. He's got a blush on his cheeks and when he looks up to meet Magnus' eyes, there's a certain shyness to him.

That shyness, that innocence locked away behind those blue eyes, makes Magnus want to kiss him until his lips bruise from abuse and take him right then and there on the damn Starbucks table, but he has to remind himself that it's only a few days (two, to be exact, but who's counting?) until Alec's done with it all, done with the random guys and the fake moans and the uncomfortable job, and they can actually be together.

…

The day Alec officially quits his job, they get into a fight.

Magnus isn't sure who started it, or if either of them actually started it and it didn't just kind of happen, or what it's really about, but it doesn't matter. It ends with Alec walking out of their apartment, the door slamming shut behind him, and Magnus fighting back tears he'll never admit to.

After that, they don't talk to each other for three days.

…

"Alexander?"

"Uh-huh?"

"Can I talk to you?"

"Of course." But he doesn't sound too enthusiastic about it.

"Can I say I'm sorry?"

Alec looks up at that. His expression is guarded, like for all the world he's afraid of fighting again, and he shuts _Slaughterhouse-Five _without marking his page. After a minute he simply says, "No."

"What?" Magnus asks before he can stop himself, incredulous.

"No," Alec repeats. "No, you can't, because there's nothing for you to apologize for."

"Alexander—"

"There's nothing either of us need to apologize for, right?" It's a serious question and he isn't demanding the answer he believes to be correct, but his tone barely holds any room for argument. Not that Magnus would argue, because he does agree.

"Right."

…

The next day, Magnus is just about ready to throw the movies in his hand at Alec.

"Alexander," he says and he voice does not take on a whine, "you promised."

"Go away, Magnus," Alec says into his pillow. "I'm tired."

"It's ten o'clock in the morning."

"I was up until four this morning working on my essay for Psychology."

"So? We both have a day off today, it's Sunday!"

"I know it's Sunday."

"When we were out with Will and Jem you said that the next time we both have a day off, we'll watch the movies."

"Shut up, Magnus."

"No. It's been exactly one week. You promised, Alexander."

"Mm." Alec buries his head into the pillow and Magnus has enough of it. He flips on the light switch and just as the light blares on overhead at a fierce velocity, he stalks over to Alec's bed and pulls the covers off of him without preamble.

"Up," he states.

Alec groans and buries his head deeper into the fluff of his pillow.

"Get the fuck up," Magnus commands and he's so exasperated with him that he laughs when he doesn't move.

"Magnus—"

"No, Alexander," Magnus interrupts and he has to laugh again. "You promised. We made a deal; I'll watch your movies if you watch mine."

"Magnus, at least let me sleep for another hour."

"Fine."

But instead of leaving his room, Magnus turns the light off and, when Alec thinks he's gone and he begins to relax, starting to feel around for his blanket, he climbs into his bed with him.

"What are you doing?" Alec asks and he looks up just as Magnus pulls the blanket back over both of them.

Magnus shrugs.

"Giving you another hour to sleep," he answers.

"But what are you doing in my bed?"

"Joining you." This time, he answers with a smirk.

"You're an idiot," Alec says, but he doesn't tell him to get out.

"Yup."

Alec watches him for a second longer, his expression wavering, and then he says, "Well, if you're going to be in my bed, do it the right way."

Magnus instantly stills. "What?"

"Hold me," he says with an easy smile, like it's the most obvious thing in the world. Which, Magnus reconciles, it probably is. He's just had one too many late night fantasies he's cowered into being wet dreams to let him see so.

He moves closer to Alec and, before he can figure out what to do because out of all the people he's slept with and he has dated not one of them asked him to do this, Alec's in his arms, making him figure it out. He lays his head against his chest once he feels Magnus' arms wrap around him and he closes his eyes.

Magnus lets him sleep for another two hours.

…

"You can sleep forever, can't you?" Magnus asks when he finally wakes him up.

Alec glares at him.

"I told you to give me an hour," he says, his voice scratchy with sleep. "Not two." He pushes Magnus away from him, almost shoving him off the bed, and drags the blanket away from his body. Magnus can tell he forces himself to get out of the bed.

As he goes over to his closet to look for clothes for today, Magnus says, "No, just wear your pajamas. It's not you're going to be doing anything today besides watching movies."

Alec sighs. "Can I at least take a shower and get ready?"

"Sure, just make it quick. And keep on those pajamas. You look cute in them."

"You're so bossy," Alec says and when he turns around, he sticks his tongue out at Magnus like they're ten years old. Magnus only smiles.

…

All four movies (Magnus': Rent and Moulin Rouge, Alec's: Repo! the Genetic Opera and The Devil's Carnival) end up being musicals. And by the time that they're done watching each of them (Magnus was surprised to find out that he actually likes Alec's choices and that Alec likes his) with breaks in between to eat and to stretch and to get the songs out of their heads and to change into actual clothes because they eventually get tired of sitting around in their pajamas, it's nine o'clock at night.

Alec's smiling faintly and humming some song underneath his breath that sounds suspiciously like "666", but a while ago he wasn't—due to each movie having a note of sadness to them. Such as Satine dying in Christian's arms and Angel dying in Collin's and Nathan dying in Shilo's and Blind Mag being run through with a spike during her last performance and what happened to John's little boy. And Magnus hadn't even thought about it but when "El Tango de Roxanne" came on, Alec turned stiff and stopped enjoying the movie. Magnus just took him in his arms and tried to pretend he hadn't notice Alec look away from the screen for the one song only.

But now Alec's laying with him, his head resting on his chest and his legs tangled with Magnus'. Magnus is running his hand up and down Alec's back, humming the slow parts of "Elephant Love Medley" and he can't help feeling that this is where he should be, where he needs to be.

"You have a nice voice," Alec says, his words a murmur into the quiet.

Magnus laughs and says, "I don't, but thank you."

"Accept the compliment, dumbass."

"Not with that tone."

"You are such an idiot sometimes, did you know that?"

"I guess I do now," Magnus replies and he can feel Alec's laughter vibrate in his chest.

His hand stops moving at Alec's waist and he jerks up a fraction of the back of his T-shirt to run his fingers along the sensitive skin above the waistband of his jeans. A shiver runs up Alec's spine at Magnus' light touch and he closes his eyes. But then Magnus mumbles "C'mere, beautiful" and Alec does and the whole mood hanging about them in the air changes.

His lips are soft and compliant underneath Magnus' and it's not long before he's earning a moan from those gorgeous lips he's wasted so much time thinking about. The next minute, Alec untangles his legs from Magnus' and pulls away. He looks up at him through impossibly long eyelashes, his eyes pretty and bright. And almost expectant.

"Magnus?" His voice is careful in the silent room, only loud enough for Magnus to hear. Magnus closes his eyes as he feels Alec's hand trace along his side, feather light and wanting.

"Magnus," he repeats, only now it's not a question. "Magnus, I want you. Tonight. Now."

Magnus nods, still not opening his eyes. Alec moves his hand from where its resting on his side to push Magnus' bangs away from his face, tugging just enough to pull a quiet gasp from Magnus. He manages to choke out an agreeing, "Y-yeah."

"Do you want me?"

Magnus swallows, his throat dry. "Yes… of course I do."

"Then kiss me," Alec requests and Magnus does, opening his eyes just in time (and just long enough) to see Alec's delicate smile before his lips are once more gentle on his and Magnus can't help but think of how innocent he is, even as a truly filthy moan escapes Alec's mouth. Alec spreads his legs out over Magnus' and hooks his arms around his neck, his knees moving to bracket his in a tight way that somehow doesn't make Magnus feel trapped. With one sharp move, their groins slide over each other's and Alec whimpers against his mouth. Magnus takes the chance to slip his tongue in between Alec's lips, holding back a pathetic sound of his own, and he tastes like that subtle cinnamon from before and the dead sunlight resting outside their windows.

Alec pushes up his shirt and starts running his fingers over his chest, tracing and moving with every line and dip of his body and tweaking his nipples just long enough to pull a moan from Magnus. There's a certain heat between them that hadn't been there before and Magnus pulls away to breathe, his breath coming in heavy, "Are… are you sure, Alexander?"

"Mm-hmm."

Alec doesn't pull away to answer and he doesn't until Magnus slides his legs from his lap and stands up from the couch, basically forcing their kiss to break.

"It's not going to be here," he says and then he's pulling Alec to his bedroom and away from the couch, their fingers intertwined loosely, and he shuts the door behind them with Alec's body. He moves his leg in between Alec's, pressing his knee carefully against his groin, and tries not to take too much pleasure in the way Alec's already writhing beneath him.

"Come on, angel," Alec says against his lips and the way his voice sounds, rough and deep and ready sends heat right down to Magnus' rapidly hardening cock. "No foreplay, I don't care. Just... angel, don't keep me waiting."

"But Alex—"

"Just take me to the bed, Magnus."

And Magnus does just that. Along the way, they both end up taking off their shirts before the other can tear it off and when they're on the bed, Alec's spread out beneath him, his pants already all the way undone and unzipped and pulled down to rest around his thighs.

Alec juts his hips up into nothing, trying to get the so needed friction Magnus isn't giving him, and Magnus leans over him with a sly smile that's gone too quickly. He cups Alec's straining member and he moans in time with Magnus' own, his eyes shut and his back arched up off the bed.

"Magnus," he whispers, his cheeks flushed and his lips already raw. "Magnus, _please_… _please fuck me_." He gasps in surprise when Magnus begins pulling down his boxers, but he's only too happy to oblige with helping Magnus take off his skinny jeans. When he's stripped down to nothing and Magnus is leaning over him, soaking up the sight and feel of his naked body, he's clad only in his own boxers.

As he reaches over Alec to search through the drawer of his nightstand for the lube he knows he has hidden somewhere, he says, "I don't… I never use condoms. Is that okay?"

"Yeah… it's fine," he says. He watches Magnus with rapt attention as he grabs Alec's legs and wraps them around his waist before Alec himself can do it and even as he squeezes the clear lotion onto his fingers. He rubs at the lotion, his eyes locked with Alec's, warming it up before he slicks it over his cock and lines himself up with Alec's entrance, hitching Alec's legs a little higher on his hips.

"Are you absolutely sure, Alexander?" Magnus forces himself to ask again. Alec looks up at him with wanton, stripped bare, eyes and he wraps his arms once more around Magnus' neck, bringing their lips together in another soft kiss that speaks of want and need and late nights yet to come.

"I'm sure," he says and that's the only thing Magnus needs to hear. Without another spoken word or another wasted second, he slowly starts pushing himself inside of Alec. Alec makes a desperate sound each time he slips in more and by the time he's all the way in, Magnus' body is shaking with need and Alec's making a high pitched sound that sounds like a whimper but has the essence of a moan.

"Fuck," he gasps. "Fuck…. _Alexander_… you… you're so tight, baby…."

"A blessing and a curse," Alec agrees and he has just enough breath left in him to laugh before Magnus starts moving. It's erratic at first, sharp bursts of unsteady pleasure that causes both of them to moan more than they probably should, but it eventually gives away to a quick rhythm that causes Alec's hips to jerk up against Magnus'.

"Shit," Alec says, his fingers digging into Magnus' shoulder blades. "Shit... A-angel, go faster."

Magnus listens and quickens the pace even more and he knows that this is going to be fast, a lot shorter than he'd like it to be, but he knows that they have all the time in the world to perfect it. And that they have many more nights.

* * *

_**Important notes!**_**: **I'm not promising anything, but you should expect another installment of this story—an actual multi-chaptered fanfiction, rather than just a simple two-shot! I'm going to define these stories by calling them the Out Tonight series (so the description for this two-shot will change a bit). In this other fanfiction, the storyline will have the same key (Alec being a porn star and whatnot), but it will divulge into things like how Alec go into the porn industry, when Alec and Magnus met, Magnus' friendship with Camille (which, in AUs, I've always been a fan of), their life before meeting each other, their lives now, their families, continuing on from where this two-shot stops, and such but it might not be entirely the same. It won't be cut up into choppy experts like this one is. So, like I said, an actual fanfiction, but I'm not sure when it will start. It could be a few days from now, or a month, or this summer! (Don't worry, it definitely will be before this summer.) Just please don't forget that I have school going on, work, and two other books I'm writing.

Now, if you're still reading, wanna help me pick the title for this upcoming story? When you review (if you review), tell me the letter of the one you like! A) It's Gotta Be Close to Midnight B) Forget Who We Are C) Take Me Out Tonight D) My Body's Talking to Me

**Other notes: **Anyways, thank you! :D And to explain a few things: I've always hated Magnus being made out as the one who has a lot of sex. I mean, don't get me wrong, I totally love experienced Magnus and blushing virgin Alexander. But has no one actually thought of Alec? That innocence is totally, deliciously corruptible. Also, if anyone is confused as to why Alec was legitimately about to have a panic attack as he was telling Magnus that he hadn't rejected him, it was because he honestly could not think of a single thing worse than him hurting Magnus. So, yeah. (; Also, for those of you who don't know, Moulin Rouge (especially the song "El Tango de Roxanne") is about prostitution.

Until the next Out Tonight, my loves~!


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